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Inheritance Cycle
The Inheritance Cycle (previously known as the Inheritance Trilogy) is a series of high-fantasy novels by homeschooled author Christopher Paolini. The first book in the series, ''Eragon'', was originally self-published by Paolini International LLC, the Paolini family's publishing business; later it was picked up by Knopf, and went on to become a New York Times bestseller, as did its sequel, Eldest. The third book in the series, Brisingr, is forthcoming. Fox 2000, a division of 20th Century Fox, purchased film rights to the first three books, and a film version of Eragon, directed by Stefen Fangmeier, was released on December 15, 2006. The series follows the exploits of Eragon, a teenage orphan who becomes the first of a new order of Dragon Riders. Eragon and his dragon Saphira spearhead the attempt to defeat Galbatorix, the evil king of Alagaësia, who hunted down and killed the previous generation of Dragon Riders with help from his traitor Rider allies, the Forsworn. , featuring the main characters]] Inheritance has garnered much attention due to the fact that Paolini was only fifteen when he began writing the first book, Eragon. Inheritance has also drawn a great deal of criticism from those who feel the nature of the books is derivative of other well known works of fantasy and science fiction, such as The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. Background Christopher Paolini began writing Eragon after graduating from high school at the age of fifteen. Originally intended to be a screenplay, the work instead evolved into a full-fledged novel of nearly five hundred pages. It was originally published by his parents' publishing company, Paolini International LLC, in 2002. Paolini traveled to schools, libraries, and bookstores to promote Eragon - in one case, arm-wrestling a potential buyer to get him to read itMacDonald, Jay. "Fantastic Voyage." Book Page September 2005: 5. - but the novel's popularity did not take off until it was discovered by author Carl Hiaasen, who recommended it to Knopf. Paolini signed a three-book deal with Knopf, and Eldest, the second book in the series, appeared in 2005. Besides the conventional formats, with cover art by John Jude Palencar, Eragon and Eldest have also been released in audiobook and ebook formats. Brisingr is scheduled for release September 20th or 21st of 2008. Premise Eragon, a 15-year-old farm boy, finds a dragon egg while out hunting in the Spine. When the dragon hatches for him, he takes on the responsibilities of the Dragon Riders and sets out on a quest to avenge his uncle's death and, eventually, to bring defeat to the evil tyrant who rules Alagaësia. Books ''Eragon The first edition of ''Eragon was self-published by Christopher Paolini's family, and was released in 2002. The second edition, published by Knopf, appeared in 2003. The paperback edition was released in 2005. ''Eldest ''Eldest was released as a hardcover edition in August 2005. A Limited Edition, featuring extras such as a brief history of Alagaësia, a double-sided poster featuring Brom's ring & Glaedr (Who was featured on Eldest's Japanese volume 2 cover), and a sneak peek of Brisingr. was released in September 2006. A paperback edition was also released in the same month. ''Brisingr New York, NY (January 16, 2008)—Following the #1 bestselling novels Eragon and Eldest, the third book in Christopher Paolini’s Inheritance cycle was titled BRISINGR, it was announced by Nancy Hinkel, Publishing Director of Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books. BRISINGR (BRIS-ing-gr), an Old Norse word for fire, will be familiar to fans of the cycle as the first word in the ancient language that Eragon hears. The jacket for BRISINGR has been illustrated by the renowned John Jude Palencar, illustrator of both the ''Eragon and Eldest covers. Brisingr was released September 20, 2008. ''Book IV No information about this book is avaiable for now, except for the fact that it will be the last book in the series and anything not answered in Book 3 will likely be answered in this book. Important characters * 'Eragon: the main protagonist; a Dragon Rider * '''Saphira: Eragon's dragon and best friend * Roran: Eragon's cousin * Brom: storyteller of Carvahall and former Dragon Rider; Eragon's mentor, currently deceased, Eragon's father * Murtagh: the son of Morzan, who was a Forsworn (betrayer of the Dragon Riders); becomes good friends with Eragon and travels with him to the Varden's hideout. Later becomes the first Dragon Rider (With Thorn, his dragon) under Galabatorix's rule since the Forsworn. * Arya: An elf princess, the guardian of Saphira's egg; she is saved by Eragon from the clutches of Galbatorix and Durza in book 1. * Galbatorix: Evil king of Alagaësia, most powerful rider ever due to his control over the eldunari of many dragons. *'Orik': King of the Dwarves and friend of Eragon *'Oromis': An ancient dragon rider hidden in the depths of Ellesmera, Eragon's mentor. Is killed by Murtagh when Galbatorix controls him. His dragon is Glaedr. *'Glaedr': Oromis's dragon, body deceased, his soul lives on in his Eldunari, which is in Eragon's posession. *'Nasuada': Daughter of Ajihad, leader of the Varden. Plot summary (Spoilers!) Eragon, a fifteen-year-old farmboy, brings home a blue 'stone' from the mountain range known as the Spine, hoping it will buy his family meat for the winter. Instead, from it hatches a blue dragon named Saphira, making Eragon a Dragon Rider. According to the storyteller, Brom, in Eragon's home village, Carvahall, the Riders and dragons were mostly destroyed about a hundred years ago by an evil Rider, Galbatorix; his dragon, Shruikan; and thirteen other Riders and their dragons, called the Thirteen Forsworn. Due to Riders' immortality, Galbatorix is still king, but there is an opposite side of rebels called the Varden, along with dwarves and elves, who oppose him. Eragon lives with his uncle and cousin; his uncle's wife, Marian, died a few years ago; the uncle's sister, Selena, Eragon's mother, left after giving birth; and his father is unknown. When Saphira is several months old, two cloaked strangers, called the Ra'zac, burn Eragon's farm, and kill his Uncle Garrow. Eragon and Saphira set off to get revenge. They are joined by Brom, who teaches Eragon swordsmanship and magic. He gives Eragon a Rider's sword, called Zar'roc. While visiting Brom's old friend, Jeod, Eragon's fortune is told by Angela the herbalist. He also gets advice from a werecat, Solembum, that there is a weapon under the roots of the "Menoa Tree" and he should go to the Rock of Kuthian and speak his name to the Vault of Souls. The Ra'zac find them and kill Brom, who dies revealing that he was once a Rider. He founded the Varden, stole Saphira's egg from the king wih Jeod's help, and killed Morzan, the first and last of the Forsworn. Zar'roc was Morzan's sword. Eragon and Saphira then set off with a young man named Murtagh, who scared off the Ra'zac, to find the Varden. On their way, they rescue an elf named Arya, who tells them how to get to the Varden. The Varden, led by a man called Ajihad, are hiding with the dwarves in a hollow mountain called Farthen Dur. When the travelers arrive, Murtagh is locked up by two twin magicians because he is Morzan's son, and Eragon and Saphira join the army. Arya is healed. She reveals that she was ferrying Saphira's egg between Farthen Dur and the land of the elves when she was captured. the Eragon blesses a baby, Elva, in the Ancient Language with magic. Angela and Solembum have also arrived. Suddenly, her captor, Durza the Shade, leads his army of monsters called Urgals into Farthen Dur, where Eragon kills him with the help of Arya and Saphira. Eragon is mentally contacted by an elf who summons him to the elven capital, Ellesmera. Before he leaves, however, more Urgals come. They kill Ajihad and 'capture' Murtagh and the Twins. Ajihad's daughter, Nasuada, leads the Varden to the small independent country of Surda. Saphira promises the dwarf king, Hrothgar, that she will repair a Star Sapphire that she destroyed in the battle. The Ra'zac return to Carvahall to capture Eragon's cousin, Roran. Instead, they capture his beloved, Katrina, and her father, Sloan, the butcher, who betrays the village by murdering a watchman. Roran leads the villagers to Surda, all under his command. On the way, they are joined by Jeod, who tells them about Eragon. Eragon, Saphira, Arya, and a dwarf named Orik go to Ellesmera, stopping at a dwarf city. The king has invited Eragon into his clan. In Ellesmera, they meet Queen Islanzadi, a dwarf-trained smith named Rhunon, and an ancient Rider named Oromis and his dragon, Glaedr. Oromis and Glaedr tutor Eragon and Saphira about magic and fighting. It turns out that when Eragon blessed Elva, he actually cursed her through bad grammar. Instead of shielding her from misfortune, he made her a shield. She now appears to be a young child, but acts and speaks like an adult. At an elven celebration, Eragon is turned into a human-elf hybrid. He keeps going after Arya, but she rejects him every time. Eventually she returns to the Varden. The Varden have joined forces with King Orrin of Surda and lead their army to a place called the Burning Plains on the border between the Empire and Surda. Eragon and Orik arrive just before the battle after magically seeing that they are in danger. Roran, Jeod, and the villagers arrive and start fighting too, as do an army of dwarves. A mysterious dragon and Rider appear on the side of Galbatorix, kill Hrothgar, and challenge Eragon. The Rider turns out to be Murtagh, and his dragon is Thorn. They were tortured by Galbatorix and forced to serve him. The Twins also appear, leading the Empire, and are killed by Roran. Murtagh stated that Selena was also his own mother, and Eragon is also the son of Morzan. Since Murtagh is the eldest, he takes Zar'roc. After the battle, Eragon promises Roran to kill the Ra'zac and rescue Katrina with him. The two of them, and Saphira, go to Helgrind, the Ra'zac's lair, and kill one of the Ra'zac, while Saphira kills the two Lethrblaka. They find Katrina, who goes back with Roran and Saphira to the Varden, and Eragon stays behind. Twelve elves, led by Blödhgarm, arrive to help the Varden. Nasuada is injured because she endured a trial with one of her own tribe to see who could endure the most pain. Eragon, meanwhile, staying at Helgrind, kills the last Ra'zac and punishes Sloan. Eragon travels back for the Varden, and is later joined by Arya on the way. Back at the Varden, Eragon offers to take back the curse on Elva, but she declines the offer. Murtagh and Thorn attack, and Saphira bites off Thorn's tail. Eragon marries Roran and Katrina after the battle. Because of Hrothgar's death, the dwarves are choosing a new king. Nasuada sends Eragon to make sure they choose Orik, as he is loyal to the Varden. While in Farthen Dur, Eragon goes through a lot of arguing, and some dwarves attack him, Orik is chosen. At the coronation, Saphira arrives and repairs the Isidar Mithrim. Afterwards, they fly to Ellesmera. In Ellesmera, Glaedr tells them that Eragon's father was Brom, which Saphira already knew. Eragon soon looks under the Menoa Tree, and finds a material called "Brightsteel" from which all Rider's swords were made. With Rhunon's help, he forges himself a blue sword called Brisingr. Glaedr then gives Eragon his organ, called an Eldunari, where his soul is. Roran has been sent on a few missions in the southern part of the Empire. One of these is to get the Varden's humans to trust a group of Urgals who have joined the Varden. Eventually the Varden attack the city known as Feinster. Eragon and Saphira arrive in the nick of time. They sense Glaedr through his Eldunari. He and Oromis are fighting Murtagh and Thorn at Gil'ead, the city where Arya had been imprisoned. Galbatorix takes control of Murtagh and kills Oromis, while Glaedr's soul lives on in his Eldunari. While Eragon is feeling the tragedy, Arya is fighting a new Shade called Varaug. Eragon distracts him long enough to let Arya kill him. The battle of Feinster ends, and Nasuada makes plans to attack other Empire cities and kill Galbatorix. Critical reaction Inheritance became a commercial success, with the first two books topping several different bestselling charts.http://www.randomhouse.com/teens/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780375826696 Eldest was a 2006 Quill Award winnerhttp://www.thequills.org/2006.html, as a well as a winner of the 2006 Book Sense Book of the Year award. However, Inheritance has also been accused of plagiarism. The story has basically been called having a Star Wars plot with a Lord of the Rings atmosphere & names. A boy of foggy origins lives with his uncle in a remote, backwater region of a vast empire headed by an evil Emperor and his right-hand man, who was once prominent in an ancient order of guardians with mystical powers. An object of vital importance to the rebellion against the Empire is transported from a princess under attack to the remote region of the Empire, where an old man lives who once belonged to the ancient order of guardians, and was part of the rebellion. The farmboy comes across the object through sheer luck. The boy seeks out the old man to learn about the ancient order, but eventually has to return to his uncle’s farm. The boy finds that it has been destroyed by fire by the Empire’s agents, and his uncle killed. The boy sets off with the old hermit, who gives him a weapon unique to the ancient order of guardians, a weapon that is also, coincidentally, the boy’s father’s. ''As they travel, they train. The old hermit has the boy focus more on swordsmanship, but also teaches him a little bit about the ways of the mystical order of guardians. The boy meets up with a rogue who is full of surprises for all his proclaimed selfishness. The boy also begins having visions of a beautiful woman imprisoned and in need of help–the same princess who sent him the object of importance. ''The boy decides that he needs to rescue her, even though he doesn’t know her; further, he thinks of her only as beautiful. The old hermit dies as a sacrifice so that the boy can escape from danger; the damsel is rescued, and they must set off to the rebellion. The Empire tracks them, and shortly after reaching the rebellion, they are attacked. A massive battle happens, one whose outcome will either save the rebellion or destroy them completely. ''The boy proves his worth with heroics during the battle, but his crowning achievement is his destruction of one of the Empire’s most prized weapons. The boy is aided in this by one of his friends, who arrives at precisely the right moment. The boy is lauded a hero. ''The boy has a hallucination of a powerful master who can teach him more of the ancient order. The boy travels to the powerful master to learn the ways of the ancient order’s mystical power. While there, he grows very powerful. While he is away, the Rebellion regroups in a new area. Just when the boy is on a roll with his training, and has grown very powerful, he has a vision of his friends in great danger. He decides he must go to help them. His master warns him not to go. The boy promises that he will return. He leaves. ''He finds his friends just in time and is able to distract the enemy so that his friends will remain safe. He engages in one-on-one combat with a foe who is revealed to be family–he finds out that his father was the right-hand man of the Emperor–his father was the one who betrayed the ancient order and helped kill them. The boy is shocked and ultimately defeated, but not killed. He loses his weapon and finds out that someone dear to him has been taken by a minor villain, and promises to find this person. Movies A feature film version of Eragon was released on December 15th, 2006. It met with mostly negative reviews, and garnered a mediocre 16% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/eragon/. The adaptation took many liberties with the book's storyline; see differences between book and movie. No plans for a film version of Eldest have been announced, though rumors and speculation existshttp://brisingr.info/eldest/will-eldest-the-movie-be-made/. Some fans have even started signing petitions for a possible remake of Eragon due to negative reviews and changes in the film. See also *Christopher Paolini *''Eragon'' *''Eldest'' *''Brisingr'' *Book 4 *''Eragon'' movie *Anti-Eragonism References * Eragon, 2nd edition, 2003. Christopher Paolini. * Eldest, 1st edition, 2005. Christopher Paolini. * Shurtugal.com - Christopher Paolini Notes External links *Alagaesia.com, the official site Category:Inheritance books Category:Inheritance cycle es:Saga El Legado nl:Erfgoed cyclus